Handlers’ Expectations and Perceived Compatibility Regarding the Partnership with Their First Guide Dogs

The main function of a guide dog is as a mobility aid, but they can also fulfill psychosocial roles as companions, social facilitators, and objects/providers of affection. This study examined the outcome of 50 peoples’ (handlers) partnerships with their first guide dog. Overall compatibility and the fulfilment of the handlers’ expectations regarding mobility and social factors related to guide dog usage were measured, and relationships between putative risk factors and the outcome of matching success were identified. The findings demonstrate that the dogs are generally exceeding expectations. The high average ratings of compatibility were notable, particularly with respect to the emotional compatibility between handler and dog. Comparing responses of those who felt the handler-dog pairing was a good match with those who felt it was a mismatch revealed it was the working aspects of the relationship that differentiated the two groups. However, the many aspects of life with a guide dog, beyond the complexities of the working relationship, suggest that a more nuanced compatibility measure accommodating both positive and negative aspects of the relationship could assist with matching, training and follow up of the handler-dog team to maximize success.

Contact-Free Mortuary Trolley Design as a Device for the Mobility of Covid-19 Victims

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many issues, especially in the medical field. One of the groups that are affected by the pandemic the worst is the health workers. The surge of demand for health services, especially for Covid-19 patients, overwhelms health workers, forcing them to work extra hard and eventually experience exhaustion. Due to this condition, the health workers may face difficulties in doing heavy-duty work. This paper proposes a design of a mortuary trolley as a device to ease the health workers in handling the dead bodies of Covid-19 victims. Considering the need for a corpse mobility aid that is contact-free, the design utilizes a combination of a scissor lift structure, a power screw mechanism to elevate and lower the table, and a conveyor system to load and unload the table. To ensure that the device can operate without experiencing unwanted failure, strength analyses are done on the most critical components, such as the scissor arm, pin joint, power screw, and scissor arm connector, to determine the safety factor at maximum load in static and fatigue loading condition. Analysis results show that all those components have a safety factor greater than 1 for both static and fatigue loading conditions, indicating the device will not yield and is predicted to have infinite life. The design and analyses of this device can be a reference for manufacturers of medical devices to design a mortuary trolley to ease the work of health workers.

Design and Fabrication of Wheelchair into Foldable Bed

In this paper lead screw mechanism is used to convert a wheelchair into bed and vice versa. When lead screw mechanism is operated, the foot rest which is downward goes till the level of seat of wheelchair and simultaneously the back support goes down to the same level making, its stretcher and vice versa, when it is converted into wheelchair from stretcher. Below the seat, a defecation system has been provided which is detachable and is operated by sliding mechanism. It is designed and fabricated in such a way that it can be used in hospitals as well as for personal use at home. Below the seat, a defecation system has been provided which is detachable and is operated by sliding mechanism. Also, obstacle avoiding sensor i.e., ultrasonic sensor is used to know if any obstacle will come in front of wheelchair, siren bell will ring. Keywords: Fabrication, Hospital, Mobility Aid, Lead Screw, Design, Wiper Motor, Wheelchair, Battery

Camera Sensory System for Door and Stair Detection for Visually Impaired

This paper introduces a novel travel for blind users that can assist them to detects location of doors in corridors and also give information about location of stairs. The developed system uses camera to capture images in front of the user. Feature extraction algorithm is used to extract key features that distinguish doors and stairs from other structures observed in indoor environments. This information is then conveyed to the user using simple auditory feedback. The mobility aid was validated on 50 visually impaired users. The subjects walked in a controlled test environment. The accuracy of the device to help the user detect doors and stairs was determined. The results obtained were satisfactory and the device has the potential for use in standalone mode for indoor navigations.

#3031 Outcome and evaluation of an outpatient multidisciplinary group-based rehabilitative therapy programme for functional neurological disorder

AimsWe report findings from an eight-week rehabilitative therapy programme, delivered in a neuropsychiatric outpatient setting, with co-primary aims to (1) reduce symptom severity, and (2) improve functional mobility, in selected adults with a diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). Effectiveness of the programme was assessed in regard to outcome data routinely collected throughout the programme, and at three-month follow-up.MethodFollowing appropriate referral, criteria screening and initial assessment, suitable individuals attended as day patients for two days per week over an eight-week period, and a follow-up session provided at three months. The programme comprised individual sessions of Physiotherapy (PT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and self-management, as well as group physiotherapy workshops and psycho-educational sessions. Outcome measures included the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-ii), Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS), and clinician-rated observation of mobility-aid requirement. Mobility-aid requirement was categorised as follows: unaided, walking-aid, and wheelchair user. Analyses included only data from individuals completing both treatment and follow-up (n = 31). Friedmans ANOVA assessed overall change in outcome measure scores over time. Dunn-Bonferroni post-hoc tests were used to compare pairs of time-points (Weeks 1, 8, three-month follow-up).ResultsThere were statistically significant overall improvements on the BAI,χ2(2) = 15.35, p <.001,BDI-ii,χ2(2) = 24.61, p <.001,WSAS,χ2(2) = 24.61, p =.001, and in category of mobility-aid requirement, χ2(2) = 19.50, p <.001.Descriptive statistics indicated that 45% of patients could mobilise unaided prior to programme attendance, with 84%able to mobilise unaided at follow-up. Post-hoc Dunn-Bonferroni tests indicated that reductions in scores were significant between Week 1 and Week 8 for the BAI, p =.004, BDI-ii, p <.001, and WSAS, p =.004, and between Week 1 and three-month follow-up for the BAI, p =.002, BDI-ii, p =.001, and WSAS, p =.006.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that an outpatient rehabilitative therapy programme can be a beneficial treatment approach, as patients reported reduced symptom severity in terms of anxiety, depression, and functional impairment, as demonstrated by scores on the BAI, BDI-ii and WSAS, and displayed improvements in mobility, as determined by reduced mobility-aid requirement. Although further evaluation would be encouraged to address limitations of these findings, they serve as a positive indication of an effective alternative to inpatient treatment.

Longitudinal observational study investigating outcome measures for clinical trials in inclusion body myositis

ObjectiveTo describe decline in muscle strength and physical function in patients with sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM).MethodsManual muscle testing (MMT), quantitative muscle testing (QMT) and disability scoring using the IBM Functional Rating Scale (IBMFRS) were undertaken for 181 patients for up to 7.3 years. The relationship between MMT, QMT and IBMFRS composite scores and time from onset were examined using linear mixed effects models adjusted for gender and age of disease onset. Adaptive LASSO regression analysis was used to identify muscle groups that best predicted the time elapsed from onset. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate time to use of a mobility aid.ResultsMultilevel modelling of change in percentage MMT, QMT and IBMFRS score over time yielded an average decline of 3.7% (95% CI 3.1% to 4.3%), 3.8% (95% CI 2.7% to 4.9%) and 6.3% (95% CI 5.5% to 7.2%) per year, respectively. The decline, however, was not linear, with steeper decline in the initial years. Older age of onset was associated with a more rapid IBMFRS decline (p=0.007), but did not influence the rate of MMT/QMT decline. Combination of selected muscle groups allowed for generation of single measures of patient progress (MMT and QMT factors). Median (IQR) time to using a mobility aid was 5.4 (3.6–9.2) years, significantly affected by greater age of onset (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.09, p<0.001).ConclusionThis prospective observational study represents the largest IBM cohort to date. Measures of patient progress evaluated in this study accurately predict disease progression in a reliable and useful way to be used in trial design.

A multisensor electronic traveling aid for the visually impaired

BACKGROUND: This paper considered the development of a wearable electronic mobility aid. METHODS: The developed system is based on the multisensor fusion approach of detection which combined three techniques, namely: a source of laser light, a camera and an ultrasonic sensor. A red line generating laser source is used to project a straight line and this is captured by the camera. The red line is deformed differently on coming in contact with holes or standing obstacles. The pattern of deformation is then extracted for obstacle and pothole recognition. The visibility of laser light is greatly reduced when the scene is extremely illuminated, so this is complemented with edge detection. The edge detection uses edges in the identification of holes and obstacles. This is combined with ultrasonic sensing, so that the presence of obstacles can be differentiated from that of holes. The outcome of detection and the distance of obstacles from the blind are relayed via an audio cue. REDULTS: Its evaluation showed better performance compared to the guide cane. It showed a reduction in collision rate by 83.25% and reduction in falling rate by 84.62%. The device received good acceptability from the users.

User Needs and Limitations of Existing Mobility Devices

The use of gait assistive devices, although can provide precious help can also have limitations or adverse consequences. The performance of daily activities is partially restrained by a series of factors having to do with the assistive device limitations or the limitations emerged from environmental causes. Valid and reliable assessment tools to classify and clarify their limitations or users' satisfaction do not exist. An extended literature search was performed for some of the most commonly mentioned assistive device limitations or dissatisfaction reasons and identified the most appropriate tools to be able to study such limitations and conclude in valid outcomes. A study was conducted in a rehabilitation hospital using the IPA, EQ5D and SF-12 tools. The size of the sample combined with the uncertainty related to the satisfaction of normal distribution prerequisite, led to use several statistical analysis tools and methodologies. A summary of the results from both the literature review and the real case study on a mixed group of mobility aid users are presented in the paper.